The Contoocook Railroad Bridge is a covered bridge on the former Contoocook Valley (first Concord & Claremont, later Boston & Maine) Railroad line spanning the Contoocook River in the center of the village of Contoocook, New Hampshire, United States. It is referred to in the National Register of Historic Places as the Hopkinton Railroad Covered Bridge, for the town of Hopkinton, New Hampshire, in which the village of Contoocook is located. Built in the 19th century, it is the oldest extant covered railroad bridge in the United States and served rail traffic until 1960. It was used as a warehouse until 1989, then became public property, and has been preserved by the state, donations, and volunteers, in association with the nearby historic railroad depot. History Originally built between 1849–50, the bridge was substantially re-built in 1889 to replace the lighter covered railroad bridge. Having been built by the former Concord and Claremont Railroad (acquired by the Boston & Maine Railroad in 1887), the bridge is the oldest of four surviving double-web Town lattice railroad bridges, and is the oldest extant covered railroad bridge in the United States. (The others double Towns are Pier Bridge, Newport, New Hampshire, 1907; Wright's Bridge, Newport, NH, 1906; and Fisher Bridge, Stowe, Vermont, 1908.) The re-built bridge was probably designed by Boston & Maine Railroad engineer Jonathan Parker Snow (1848–1933) and built by carpenter David Hazelton (1832–1908). Under Snow, the Boston & Maine utilized wooden bridges on its branch lines longer than any other major railroad, the last of these constructed in 1916. The nearby Contoocook Railroad Depot was built in 1850 on the earlier Concord & Claremont Railroad. The bridge presents the clearest, most original structure of its type, as the others incorporate significant structural modifications. The main trusses are double Town lattice and are continuous over a central pier to form two spans of approximately each. It has reportedly been said that they were "built by the mile and cut off by the yard." The center pier is skewed to match the river flow, as are the abutments. This is because the bridge spans the river on a bias. The bridge was in use as a railroad bridge until 1962, survived a flood in 1936, a hurricane in 1938, and was moved off its foundations twice during its lifespan and saved from being completely washed down river by the rail tracks running through